Indigo
by Gorgonfish
Summary: I'm sure you've heard of me. Red, the wunderkind from Pallet. The boy who took down the Rockets all by himself. The young man who captured myths and communed with deities. That's what you'll find in the biographies put out by the league. It's a lie. Let me tell you the truth, my truth, before they send someone to silence me. Minds can be rewritten, the internet is forever.
1. Subject: Introduction

Subject: Introduction

Posted by: pry_goon

I'm not sure how to start this… whatever this ends up becoming, but there isn't really any other place to put it. I wouldn't even think of doing this if it weren't for the help of some computer savvy friends of mine; INDIGO already has the Pokecenters and Bill's servers under surveillance. People never stop to question why our Pokemon are healed for free or the reason the Box System never charges a fee. They track everything because they fund everything. Silph is their pet project too. Brilliant idea really: mass market Pokeballs, take the billing information from the sales to set up an account, and slip in a bit of code to register the vitals of whatever is caught with it. It was hell trying to remove the gps tracker from my Pokedex. But you'll know more about that later.

I doubt any of you will believe me. Conspiracy theorists always seem to have issues, trust me I have plenty, but this is real. You are being watched right now. They know exactly what Pokemon you've captured; worse yet, with the press of a button your precious monsters become theirs. I don't blame Bill, or any of the other Box admins. Their dream of uniting the world through Pokemon was noble, but the people who funded it are evil. That word isn't hyperbolic. Blaine, Giovanni, Mewtwo, even Deoxys didn't frighten me like INDIGO does. And it was with that fear that I bombed the Global Link facilities.

You'll find talkshow personalities discussing my early life with neighbors on all the Holocast networks. Some of the people I met on my journey will say I was a quiet, strange child. Others, like Misty, will say I had a hero complex. All of that is skewed by their perspective. To really understand why I did this you have to know it all, from the very beginning. There's no telling how long it'll be before this is taken down again, but I have faith people will find a way to get it out into world when that happens.

My name is Red, and this is my story.


	2. Subject: Pallet

Subject: Pallet

Posted by: pry_goon

I'm sure most of you have heard of Pallet. Mostly because of Blue and Leaf, though I guess I might have had a hand in it too. Anyways, Pallet is what you'd expect from a leafy little hamlet. No Pokemon Clinic or 'proper' retail center. Yeah, we're real backwoods. The only real export we have is the multitude of berry species that grow in the uniquely fertile soil underneath our town. I find it kind of weird really; plant a seed in the ground and within a few days a fully bloomed tree stands in its place. There are dozens of theories about why this happens. The mystery would probably have been solved a long time ago if Professor Oak took an interest in anything besides studying Pokemon. My favorite theory is that the overpopulation of Tangela spurs on some miracle in the berry seeds, though my mother being a certified Tangela breeder might have something to do with it.

People like to leave home. The notion of running away to have adventures in the forest is apparently common in children. I had a thirst for seeing faraway places, but mom was a single parent after dad's job took him overseas so if I left it'd just be her alone in our house. It took a lot of convincing to get me to leave on that stupid 'mission' of Oak's. I still regret getting so caught up in travelling that I didn't visit very much. I miss her.

The stairs squeaked. A few seconds later my mother was standing at the entrance to the living room looking at me with an all too familiar exasperated expression. I shifted nervously on the sofa.

"Red, when did you get up?"

"Just a minute ago." I kept my eyes on the television.

"I asked you to make your bed yesterday. You never make it without being reminded. Funny thing, it was made when I went to wake you up. So try again, kiddo."

"..."

"What was that?"

"I didn't go to bed," I mumbled.

"I thought you were going to sleep right after Lance's match?"

My face lit up like a Squirtle tickling a Voltorb. "I know mom, but the match didn't end until thirty minutes ago! Second longest match in the League's history: 9 hours and 37 minutes!"

"You know Professor Oak wanted to see you this morning, right? Being dead tired isn't going to do you any good."

"What did he want?"

Her smile was predatory. "I told you it's a surprise. Now get cleaned up, and please take Thorn with you. She's getting restless indoors."

I left the house thirty minutes later with my hair still a little bit wet and a small Tangela trudging along behind me, stopping every few feet to jump in a puddle with its red boots. If she kept this up all day she might become part ground type.

We lived on the far west side of town, only a block away from being considered the outskirts. It usually didn't take long to get to the Pokemon lab in the center of town, especially on my bike, but baby Pokemon aren't known for their punctuality. The clock tower in the modest park outside town hall was finishing its chime as I stopped in front of the lab, on the opposite side of the park.

Wedging the front door open with my foot, I reached down grabbing Thorn and then walked deeper into the front lobby. Everyone says Oak's lab looks like a library. That's because the front half is technically the town's entire compendium of knowledge, discounting the magazines sold on a stand at the marketplace.

A throat cleared to my left. Someone with a copy of Breeder's Digest was behind the counter, though they looked only a little older than me.

"Excuse me, but can I help you?"

"I… Professor Oak wanted to see me at 8 o'clock?" When I'm nervous everything sounds like a question.

The magazine dropped and from behind it appeared the prettiest girl in all of Pallet, Daisy Oak.

"Hey, Red! So he wanted to see you too? That's neat."

"Uh, what are you doing here, Daisy?"

"Oh, you know, just busywork. I needed some spending money for the Pokemon contest in Celadon. Stardust is going to win the beauty division, I know it!"

"Yeah, good luck. Uh, what about my appointment?"

"Hmm, let me check, let me check. Oh, right! Grandpa should be back any minute now. He had to take care of some business at the house." Daisy smiled. My heart went for a drum solo.

"You okay, Red? Your face is all…," she didn't finish the sentence, instead descending into an adorable fit of laughter.

More blood rushed to my face. "I… can I wait in the lab?"

"Sorry, sorry! Go through the door in back. You know the lab door? I'll tell him you're here when he gets in."

"T-thanks, Daisy."

"No problem, sweetie, and don't touching his things!"

I strolled through the aisles toward that door, though if anyone were to get hold of the film it might look more like an awkward 11 year old boy running away with a struggling shrubbery wearing shoes in his arms. The only thing on then-me's mind was how to woo the oh so mature 13 year old female Oak.

The Professor's lab smelled like bleach. The smell attacked your senses as soon as you entered the room; it even overpowered the mechanical whizzing of bland-looking machines that would have fit perfectly in old science fiction movies. The boring gray kind with bulky, monochromatic backlit buttons.

Running the length of the left side of the room were shelves and display cases with any sort of trinket you could imagine. Evolution stones were collected in a circular pattern like petals of a flower. Even the ones that weren't native to Kanto like Dusk, Dawn, and Shiny stones. Nearly a dozen types of incense in special painted boxes of delicate ceramic. I clutched Thorn tight and walked over to a particular piece that caught my attention every time I visited. It was a rock in the shape of a crown, or maybe an actual metal crown so old the rust made it look like stone. The one Oak had was found in the tomb of some old Sevii island king from long ago. I swear you could hear it whispering. My hand slowly crept closer toward it.

"Red! What are you doing?" I quickly scratched my nose and returned to holding my Tangela two-handed.

"Yo loser, Gramps asked you to come here too?"

I had been too enthralled by the King's Rock to notice my neighbors Leaf and Blue had showed up. Before I had time to respond, Leaf was already invading my personal space tickling Thorn and making that god awful cooing sound people think babies like. This one enjoyed them if the hard shoes kicking me in the gut were anything to go by.

"Your Grandpa asked my mom to have me be here," I glanced at Blue, "do you know why?"

"Sure do, not going to tell you though. That'd take all the fun out of it."

Leaf twirled on the spot and marched in front of him, batting her eyelashes. "Will you tell me?"

"Being all cutesy won't work on me, not like it does Red. One smile from Sis and he glows enough to evolve a Growlithe."

"Shut up, Blue!" Yeah, eloquent, I know. Banter wasn't my thing back then.

"Put your Pokemon where your mouth is, why don't you?"

Thorn cooed in my grip. "She's just a baby, and you don't even have a Pokemon."

"Not for long, dweeb. And I wasn't talking about your little houseplant…"

"Boys." Leaf sighed.

"What? You'll get your chance too."

"Blue Oak! I'm not 'borrowing' one of your Grandpa's Pokemon to battle with. Remember last time? We were banned for months!"

"Be patient, Gramps'll be here any second and everything will make sense."

I had returned to snooping around the lab with my eyes. Those two always fought like an old married couple. A lot of the kids from elementary had a bet about which one of them had Leaf Oak scrawled into their notebook. It would have been the only place you'd ever find that name.

"Ahh, children! You're all here on time, fantastic! I knew I picked the right ones for the job! Early birds get the worms and so forth."

"Gramps, you're losing me here. Can we hurry it up?"

"Enough of that, Blue. This is important and exciting and there's no need to rush through it. A day of celebration, even."

Leaf cleared her throat. "Professor, what did you ask us here for?"

"Right," he spoke grandly as he moved to the back of the lab, setting rectangular box down on a table against the wall, "I've asked you three here today for one simple reason: I want you to be the beta testers for a new invention of mine! It's really revolutionary, if I do say so. Imagine it, a device nearly the size of a wallet that stores up-to-date information on any Pokemon in the Kanto region. It even has pictures!"

"Aren't normal books enough? They make new ones every year," I asked.

"No, no! This is instantaneous. People in the field can input new information as they discover it! Access to footprints, habitat maps, and mutations within a species at their fingertips!"

"How are you going to get dial-up out in the Fuchsian Forest? Won't Pokemon eat the wires? You know, like that Pikachu you caught a couple days ago?" Blue was tapping his foot against the linoleum.

"This doesn't need any wired connections, it's wireless!"

"Wireless? Are you using dead Garvantula cables," Leaf asked shakily.

"No wires. Like the telepathy of psychic Pokemon, but using machines instead. We've gotten off track, though. I'd like to ask the three of you to use my device out in the field where it will be up against the elements. The technology is quite expensive to take to Silph for mass production, so it'd be best to have something that will last for a long time to come. The photo recognition also needs tested, it works fine here, but wild Pokemon aren't known for stopping for you to snap a picture. So are you interested?"

"Gramps, you forgot the other thing."

"Hmm? Yes! As an incentive, I'll also be giving you each a monthly stipend as interns for my lab. That should cover the cost of travel supplies and a modest amount of Pokeballs. Also, I've recently been to Floe Island in the Sevii chain and had three of my favorite Pokemon breed eggs. You may each choose one of the hatched offspring to help you on your journey. Sound good?"

"Hell yes, Professor!" I clasped a hand over my flushed face. Stupid over eagerness. The others expressed more restrained approval. Barely.

"Very well! I'm going to ask that you go by seniority, to keep things fair, so Leaf will be first. Go ahead, dear." He pointed at the box he'd placed down earlier.

Leaf strode forward and opened the box. Blue and I were attempting to look inside from a safe distance away, far enough that Oak wouldn't shoot us disapproving glances. There were three Pokeballs spaced evenly within the box, all with the same solid white bottom and see-through red top. What was inside each of them was entirely different. A grin spread across all three of our faces. They were some of Oak's rarest Pokemon, in cute child forms: Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. Leaf didn't even hesitate, sticking to her namesake she gingerly pulled out the Bulbasaur's capsule and giggled down at its tiny form as she walked back to our group.

"You can give them nicknames from your Pokedex anytime you wish, though once it's been registered with the Box System changing it is a hassle."

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "Pokedex? Box? What's that?"

"Zip it, doofus, you're next! I want to choose one this century!"

"Blue, enough."

Hearing Blue get chastised was a fun pastime, but I did want a Pokemon. As I looked down between the two, one of Thorn's tendrils moved toward the Squirtle. Probably some kind of territory marking, or it could sense that it was stronger as far as types went. Squirtle would be a good choice, though not the best. Thorn wouldn't like what I was about to do. Plucking Charmander's capsule from the box, I grinned down at it.

"Hey, buddy. Let's have fun together, okay?" Thorn shrank in on herself a bit.

"Well that took forever. Shove it." Blue nudged me out of the way, Thorn falling to the ground and running loose toward the library door. Oak swiftly dropped a Pokeball from his lab coat onto her head, capturing her in it. Blue turned back around with Squirtle clutched in his hand.

"Manners, boy," Oak sighed, "now that you've all chosen I'd like to give you your Pokedex and some Pokeballs to start you off with. Come now, it's best you pack your things and leave off before it gets too late."

When Leaf and Blue had already received their gifts and left, I approached the professor.

"Sorry about Thorn, sir. I don't think she took me picking a fire type too well."

"I should think not. Why did you choose that one, if I may ask?"

"Uh, Leaf had a grass type and Blue'd have to get a water type if I took this one," I said smiling at Charmander, "so once Thorn is trained up a bit I'll have an advantage over both of them."

"Don't get tied up in type matching, son. That's only a small step from sorting these wonderful creatures as weak and strong, or important and useless. Pokemon, like people, are more than a surface value, and if you give them a chance who knows what they'll grow into."

Back then I interpreted Professor Oak's response as a sign of approval, that his words were directed at Blue, but thinking on it I'm sure it was disappointment aimed at me. I was a dumb kid, still am sometimes.

"I won't."

He gave me the last Pokedex, a bright red one to go along with my name like he did with Blue and Leaf. Then he handed me four empty Pokeballs and the one that contained Thorn, who was officially my second Pokemon now.

"There's a gym in Viridian, if you want to take on that challenge. No doubt that's where Blue will head first. He'll want to battle you as well, so be prepared advantage or not."

"Sure, Professor."

"Good luck, Red."

I was so wrapped up in everything that had happened, I almost missed Daisy asking me to stop by her house as I left out the front door.


	3. Subject: Steps

Subject: Steps

Posted by: pry_goon

I walked home in a dazed state. Professor Oak wanted me to travel the country testing out his invention. And I'd get paid! Most of it would end up paying for food and lodging, but the thought of having a job at 11 was still pretty cool. One nagging thought kept tumbling in my head though: my mother couldn't be left alone. I knew she'd try to send me off; the fact that she pushed me into meeting up with Oak was evidence of that. It didn't matter. Dad made me promise to watch over the house while he was away on business. I could still hold onto the Charmander for the rest of the day and return it tomorrow.

As I reached home I saw my mother waiting on the front porch with a silly grin. This was going to be tough.

"So which one did you pick, Red?" She had to yell because I'd just gotten to the picket fence of our big front yard.

I held up one of the Pokeballs and yelled back, "Charmander."

"A fire type? Oh dear, Thorn didn't like that did she?" She smirked.

Something clicked in the back of my mind. I ran up to her.

"You made me take her on purpose! How'd you know I'd go for Charmander?"

"Deduction, sweetheart. Choosing a grass type would be redundant and Blue was guaranteed to pick the one strong to yours. I figured Leaf would go for Bulbasaur."

"Blue could've gone first, that'd mess with your theory."

"Which is why I suggested to the professor that ordering you by oldest to youngest would be the fair way of doing it."

"That's cheating!"

She shrugged it off. "Perhaps, but if you really want a water type there are plenty of ponds around Viridian teeming with Poliwag."

My chest felt heavy again. Mom shuffled me into the house and sat me down on the same sofa I'd watched the Elite Four matches all night. I rubbed my eyes a little and noticed a slew of items lying across the coffee table.

"What's all this?"

She could tell what I was doing; she read it on my face.

"These are all the things you'll need to start your Pokemon journey. You can't worm your way out of this so don't even try."

"I can't go, Mom. Dad put me in charge of protecting you!"

"Your father forgets that I'm plenty capable of fending for myself. I survived his Interpol training alone and the pregnancy with you."

"Yeah, but I promised him."

"Fine, guess I'll just have to use my secret weapon."

I stared at her confused.

"He's coming back to Kanto in a few days on business, like the long-term kind. So I won't really be alone, Red. Any more excuses?"

"I want to see Dad too…"

"Oh, you will. He's investigating something to do with rockets in Pewter. His flight landed three days ago. Better get going if you want to meet up with him, huh?" She was most likely thinking something along the lines of 'Checkmate'.

I sighed in defeat, but a good type of defeat. "So what's all this stuff?"

Mom launched into explaining all the items she'd ordered over the past few weeks and found leftover from her and dad's travels: human snacks, pokemon snacks, assorted berries, one of their old fishing rods, and a few other odds and ends. I'm telling you, the invention of item capsules saved me a lifetime of back pain. As she stored things inside the yellow tinted versions of a pokeball, I fiddled with the pokedex Oak had given me on the way out of his lab. It took a while to decide on a nickname, but finally Coal and Thorn were listed as my very own pokemon in the index of species. A little capsule icon even appeared next to their names. If only my username was changeable, dx_red is a stupid handle.

When I glanced back up she already had everything packed neatly in the backpack that until today was used for my school books. I remember thinking in that moment that someday I'd return and finish through high school, maybe even get a degree from Celadon University. Now stuffy professors will diagnose me in sociology classes. Messiah complex, paranoia, repressed anger at an absentee father, the whole nine yards. Screw them.

Mom tossed the backpack at me. "Come on; let's go get your bike out of the shed. I want to snap a couple pictures before you leave."

It was hell. She kept sarcastically barking at me to strike weird poses on and off my bike. Its shiny blue metal did kind of look cool against my red hoodie, I guess. Things got dicey when she wanted one of me with my pokemon. There was no telling how Coal would react. We decided on placing them on either side of the bike in the hopes they wouldn't notice each other.

Coal came out first on my left. He was smaller than I expected, his head barely reached my waist when I sat on the bike. I held my hand out like Mom had taught me. Coal stared at it then cautiously approaching and giving it a slimy lick. I could hear him purring deeply.

I scratched under his chin. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Red, your trainer. Do you mind if I call you Coal?"

He didn't understand anything I said so I released Thorn on my other side. Thankfully she wasn't used to being put in a pokeball, the disorientation rooted her in place long enough for Mom to take three photos. I recalled Thorn, gave Coal another scratch, and returned him to his capsule as well.

"Well, little man, you ready?"

"Are you crying Mom?"

She sniffled. "No. Something in my eye."

"I'll visit soon, I promise. It's okay."

She tugged me in for a tight hug. A minute passed then she let go.

"That's not why I'm sad. You're growing up bit by bit and it's difficult to except. I won't be around to see most of it. Just call every chance you get."

"I will, Mom. Love you."

I pulled the bill of my baseball cap further down on my face. There was something in my eye too.

"Get going, pokemon master. And set up camp before it gets too dark, you don't need to be walking around the woods at night!"

I pedaled away. The April wind blasted my face as a raced down the hill back toward the center of town and up the road leading to Route 1. Professor Oak's house bordered the outskirts of Pallet to the north. A quick stop and then I'd be off to see the world.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

_dx_gray has signed on…_

**dx_brown:** Ah, a new user! Welcome! Please feel free to ask if you require any assistance.

**dx_clear:** hey fresh meat

**dx_gray:** Hiya

**dx_gray:** The registration said I have to make an account to post updates so I did it

**dx_gray:** What am I supposed to do now

**dx_clear:** whatever you want

**dx_clear:** chat is for troubleshooting and crap

**dx_brown:** Yes, basically. Clear has a working knowledge of the hardware and I am testing the network connectivity. Depending on how you fill out the feedback form it will be sent to one of us.

**dx_gray:** Oh I thought grandpa would get those :/

**dx_clear:** working knowledge of the hardware my ass i practically built the prototype

**dx_brown:** C, she's a kid! Watch your language!

**dx_gray:** I'm 13 that's not a kid

**dx_clear:** he's giving it out to teenagers now arceus

**dx_gray:** Well grandpa handed 3 out to 11yo's this morning xP

**dx_clear:** bill it emotes burn it

**dx_gray:** At least I capitalize

**dx_brown:** Neither of you punctuate.

**dx_gray:** Meanie :3

**dx_brown:** Please don't use my name, C. This is an anonymous channel.

**dx_clear:** come on it's not like we don't know who each other is/are (pick the right one)

**dx_gray:** You don't know me

**dx_clear:** daisy oak granddaughter of doc oak address 19 pomeg street pallet, kanto

**dx_gray:** How do you know that are you stalking me :O

**dx_clear:** kid i was building computers before you were born i can do anything

**dx_brown:** Don't worry, Daisy, he's not a stalker. He just likes frightening children on the internet as a pastime.

**dx_gray:** I'm not a child Mr Bill

**dx_gray:** Ohh sorry someone's at the door

**dx_gray:** It must be Red

**dx_gray:** G2g ttyl

**dx_clear:** fffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

_dx_gray has signed off…_

[chat log retrieved by pry_goonz]

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

I dropped my bike on the front lawn and knocked on the front door. It felt like eternity waiting for Daisy to respond. There was no telling what she wanted. The door opened.

"Red! Come in, come in. Want some tea?"

I walked in carefully.

"Uh, sure Daisy."

"Let's sit in the kitchen, 'kay?"

Tea wasn't my favorite beverage, but Daisy obsessed over it and always experimented with blends (usually on Blue or I). People thought of her as a weirdo for liking tea in a town famous, relatively, for producing near sixty percent of the region's berry wines. I liked the way the steam rising from her cup never failed to make her cheeks rosy-colored.

I slouched into a seat at the table and dropped my bag against my feet. Their kitchen table was one of those kinds that never got much use. You could tell because the place mats and flower arrangement in the center were always in the proper position. I never understood that about the Oaks, how they functioned not seeing each other every single day. It became easier to grasp once I had a family of my own. But spoilers.

My eyes moved back to Daisy as she moved efficiently from a cabinet to the stove and half a dozen other places in the room. She pushed the vase of flowers to the side and set down a tea tray in its place. It had everything: saucers, delicate cups with prancing eevee painted on the side, a dispenser with sugar, and fancy silver stirring spoons. Like I said, she liked tea.

I cautiously lifted a cup and saucer after she poured me Bello Leaf tea, placing it on my mat letting it cool a bit.

"So, umm…"

"Now, now, Red! First things first, show me your pokemon. You left with your head in the clouds and I didn't get to see which you chose."

"It's too dangerous to let them out."

"Keep them capsuled. Setting them on the table is enough." She smiled.

I tugged on Coal and Thorn's pokeballs until they released from the magnetic strips on my belt. Daisy leaned in close as I lay them on the table.

"Charmander, that's great! What'd you name him?"

"Coal."

She reached under the table and came back with a pokeball of her own. This one had Stardust, a pink furball that resembled a five-point star if you stared long enough. The baby pokemon pressed her face on the wall of her capsule and made faces at Coal and Thorn. We were all hoping she might mellow out by the time she evolved into a clefairy.

I gulped down half of the tangy Bello Leaf in my cup.

"Why did you want me to stop by?"

"Always in such a hurry, aren't you?" She finished off the last of her tea. "I wanted to give you something of mine. Blue is too hard headed to ever accept advice from me, but not you. Here."

She passed me what seemed like a folded up map. Scribbled notes dotted the page facing me; no doubt the rest was covered in it as well.

"Those are labels and tips for when you're traveling. Where to camp, shrines to visit, things like that. Oh," she tapped on a spot near water, "Cape Cerulean, you should go there. It's so romantic."

"Have you gone?"

"Yep, after the Cerulean Contest this summer. It was a picnic with a boy I met in the competition. Very fun."

I didn't say anything. I felt a lot of things.

Ten minutes of nonsensical chatter and I was out the door. Daisy's map would come in handy, but I had pride or something to uphold. That's what I told myself as I roughly threw it in my bag. I rode my bike quickly out of Pallet's border, racing over the brick path that twisted through Route 1. It's probably kind of gross, but I remember being worried about wild pokemon attacking me when I eventually would have to urinate. Turns out I was right to worry. Spearow are perverts and jerks. But I'll save that story for my next post.


End file.
